As the growing proportions and absolute numbers of frail elderly increase in the U.S., families have provided the bulk of care to frail elderly, but at social and financial costs. Legislation exists for financial support of home care, but little is known about the quality of respite care, (temporary substitute relief to caregivers), or its impact on the caregiving dyad. The purpose of this three year, longitudinal, qualitative research is to study the subjective experiences of female and male care providers and their elderly care-recipients, comparing respondents using respite care with those not using respite care. Specific aims are: 1) the description by respondents of their care experiences and its meaning and their assessment of the quality of their care; 2) the respondents' perceptions of, and consequences of, their financial, emotional and social costs and benefits of in-home care and/or respite care; and their perceptions of professional health care workers, especially nurses, as care-alternatives or resource supports; 3) the identification of health and care factors that promote or impede respite care; 4) the identification, if they exist, of stages or times that indicate a possible trajectory of care definition and management that leads to the use or non-use of respite care, and 5) the generation of theory, thereby enhancing the facilitation of nursing interventions that will maintain health at the highest possible level for both caregiver and care-recipient. the proposed qualitative longitudinal study will obtain data at two time points from individual caregivers and care receivers (Care dyads). The total sample will consist of 60 dyads (120 respondents) divided into three groups: 20 dyads of in-home, short-term respite users, 20 dyads of community-based short-term (Adult Day Care) respite users, and 20 dyads of non-users of respite care, equally divided among Caucasians and African-Americans. Qualitative analyses and statistics will focus on description of prevailing themes of respite and non-users of respite care givers and recipients regarding care definitions, management, and trajectory (in stages or time) of illness and care. The proposed study will have implications for in-home care, alternative health care provision, and subsequent policy formulation. The study will also provide students of nursing, gerontology and women's health much-needed theory and data regarding the meaning and quality of health, illness, caring and respite care for the elderly.